[RELEASED] Database Control Pro

Asset Store Page

Introduction:

Database Control Pro is a complete online database solution for Unity. It is designed to be easy to use for beginners and very flexible for more advanced users. It allows you to securely store large amounts of data online for your game, which can be accessed anywhere in the world. It includes many useful tools for adding a server data storage backend to your game all within the Unity editor. You can setup databases, view and edit databases (imagine a basic Microsoft Excel) and visually script server-side code all within Unity. With a range of demo templates you can setup an accounts system for your game in minutes.

We provide the server, we provide the storage, and we’ve learnt the necessary languages leaving you to develop your game.

Asset Store Page

Uses:

• User accounts (Login, Register, Save Data, Load Data, etc)
• Release in-game news without having to rebuild
• Save online chats to a database so players can continue from where they left off
• Create your own basic analytics
• Daily rewards, and record the time since a player last logged in
• Use with IAP systems to record player stats and purchases
• ... and do anything else you can think of with an online databases

Features:

• Unlimited number of databases
• Visually script server-side responses (drag and drop)
  • Get/Set data from/to the databases
  • If statements and loops
  • Use variables (sent from game or created server-side)
  • Perform string, integer and floating point operations
  • Use server time and IP addresses
  • ... and more
• View and edit databases in the Unity editor
• You don’t need to use any other software or programming languages
• Includes 4 main demos which can be customized and used in your game
• A few extra demos for testing
• A extension to the Unity UI system for smooth animations (used in demos)
• Supports all versions of Unity from 4.6 onwards
• Supports C# and Unityscript
• Should support all platforms (we have only tested Desktop, Web Player, WebGL and Android)
• Maintained online documentation
• Long term high-quality support and updates
• Regular database backups
• Secure data transfer with SSL

Disclaimer: Database Control Pro does not currently working in China. We are working to find a solution for this.


The Editor Tools:

The Setup Window – Create/Rename/Delete Databases and Command Sequences. Publish/Unpublish databases to increase security. Setup project and demo scenes in minutes.




The Database Viewer Window – View and edit databases. Update changes. Perform row/column operations and view the results of Command Sequences.




The Sequencer Window – Visually script Command Sequences which can be run on the server at runtime. A very unlimited and flexible solution for all of your database reading and writing needs.




Database Control Pro includes other built-in windows for testing Command Sequences in the editor, Bug Reporting and finding the latest version of the package.


Demos:

All of the demos we create will be included in the package with a quick setup using the Setup Window.




Basic Login Demo: WebGL, Windows, Mac, Linux - This is the simplest of all of the demos, providing a simple login/register accounts system where a data string can be saved and loaded. If you want to create a more complex system for your game we advise starting with this demo and building on it while using the other demos as guidance.




Third Person Demo: WebGL, Windows, Mac, Linux - This demo is much closer to a real game example. You can login/register and move a third person character around a scene. It has an inventory where you can pick up and drop cubes. The position and rotation of the player, the positions of the cubes and the player's inventory can be saved and loaded for each account.




Online Chat Demo: WebGL, Windows, Mac, Linux - This demo shows a very simple online chat demo. You can read and write comments and most importantly all of the comments are stored in a database online so they are 'remembered' even when no players are playing the game. You could also use 'Database Control Pro' with Photon's chat (or others) for the very best in-game chat experience.



City Constructor Demo: WebGL, Windows, Mac, Linux - This demo is the most complex of all of the demos. Nearly everything the player does is checked in Command Sequences server-side which makes it very secure and impossible to cheat. The aim is to build/upgrade houses to increase the population to increase your level. You can also build factories to generate money over time and banks to increase the amount of money you can store. It has many features including a more advanced login/register system, you can build/upgrade/move/sell buildings, recording the time since the player last logged, daily rewards, level up, ... etc.


Videos:

Features Video - A video outlining the features and uses of Database Control Pro. The video was made in Unity using the UI animation system included with Database Control Pro. The video will be included in the Database Control Pro package if you want to see how it works.

Quick Setup Video - A tutorial showing how to setup Database Control Pro in a project and how to setup the demo scenes.

Basic Introduction Video - A tutorial following on from the Quick Setup Video showing the basics of the Database Control Pro editor windows.

UI System Video - A tutorial showing the basics of how to use the UI Animation System which is included with Database Control Pro.

Links:

Asset Store Page
Website
Website: Contact Form
Documentation
Asset Store Publisher Page

Database Control (Free) links:
Unity Forum
Asset Store Page

Contact us at: solution_studios@outlook.com


Future Updates:

Version 1.0.2 is the latest update for Database Control Pro providing full Unity 5.5 support.
We have started working on an update for Database Control (Free). More information on the forum here.
We are currently planning a major update for Database Control Pro (v1.1) which will have some new features. But, this will be after the next DCF update so you might have to wait a while.
We also plan on making some more tutorial videos.


Thanks for reading

 

We origionally made a post about this on the (new) forums a few days ago. As the forums have been rolled back we have recreated the post on these forums.

You can see a read-only version of the origional post here.

 

Latest News:

We have nearly finished the Third Person Demo. It has taken us a bit longer than expected as we spent a long time getting the UI right. We still need to add the ability to set it up in the Setup Window (which shouldn't take long) and add comments to the scripts. Once we have done this we will upload the demo.

 

The Third Person Demo is now finished.

You can try it here.

 

We have got the base for our online documentation setup today. As the documentation is online we will finish it after we have sent the package to the Asset Store Team. This is because 'Database Control Pro' is a service so it will take longer for the Asset Store Team to review and we can finish the documentation while they are reviewing it. This makes submitting the package a priority and the documentation less important at the moment.

We have also made good progress on our next demo which is a simple online chat. Hopefully we will be able to show it to you over the weekend.

 

We have uploaded our chat demo. You can try it here.

We have a few bits of code to finish, then the 4th (and last) demo, then a video or two and then we will finally be submitting it to the Asset Store. We have decided the initial price will be $35 until the first update when we will put it up to $45 (as we have many new features we want to include).

 

We wanted to release the 4th demo today, but its taking us a lot longer than expected to put it together. It will be a city building demo with many features. We are about halfway at the moment and hopefully we can release it this week.

In the meantime here is the Quick Setup video we have put together:

 

We were using a Command Sequence earlier which was meant to retrieve the string '2000' from a database. It kept giving us '7'. It turned out to be quite a major bug. Luckily, we solved it (array problems with variables in server-side code).

Anyway, here is the 4th and final (for now) demo: City Constructor Demo



Nearly everything in this demo is checked server side so the Command Sequences are longer which means they are slower. Speed is an issue we will tackle in the future, it will probably be one of the first things we look at after the initial release of Database Control Pro. We want to completely rewrite all of our server-side code with a different setup which should give responses at least 5 times quicker.

Now we have all of the demos done, the Database Control Pro package is complete, but we have it working in Unity 5.4 beta. Next we want to get it working back in Unity 4.6 which might take a while due to backwards compatiblity issues. We will probably have to recreate all demo scenes from just the scripts and assets.

 

We have just finished making a video showing the uses and features of Database Control Pro.

We made this video within Unity using the UI system we have included in Database Control Pro. Then we built a desktop version and recorded it with screen recording software. Then we uploaded it to youtube where we added the music.

The Unity scene which contains this video with all the UI animations will be included in the Database Control Package if anyone wants to see how it works.

Edit: Just noticed we spelt 'documentation' wrong at 1:22

 

We have nearly finished getting Database Control Pro working in Unity 4.6, but we still haven't tested it. It will probably take another day to finish this. Then we will upgrade it to Unity 5 which will hopefully be a lot quicker to get working. Then we will get it working in 5.3 and maybe the just released version of 5.4.

As we have nothing else to show you, here is the next tutorial showing all of the editor windows and there uses. It doesn't go into much depth with the Sequencer window, but we will save this for later tutorials or the documentation.

 

Unity 4.6 compatibility - Done
Unity 5.0 compatiblity - Done
Unity 5.3 compatibility - Done

We will upload Database Control Pro to the Asset Store using these three versions of Unity. This means it should now work in all versions of Unity after (and including) 4.6

We will create the asset store graphics today and plan to submit it today or tommorrow

 

After over 12 months of planning and development we have finally submitted Database Control Pro Version 1.0 to the Unity Asset Store. Hopefully, it will be approved by the Asset Store Team (it might need a few resubmissions).

As it is a service, the reviewing process will probably last a few weeks (maybe months) to check the legal side of it and make sure it works long term. Meanwhile, we will be working on finishing the online documentation and then start the first update for Database Control Pro. Then we might start an update for Database Control (Free).

The Asset Store Publisher Administration site provides a preview to us, of what the asset store page would look like when released. We took a screenshot of it to show you:

 

We are making good progress with the documentation and are nearly halfway.

In the meantime we have added a few more platforms for testing the demos:

Login Demo: Windows, Mac, Linux
Third Person Demo: Windows, Mac, Linux
Chat Demo: Windows, Mac, Linux
City Constructor Demo: Windows, Mac, Linux
(WebGL demos are still available in the origional post)

We will try to reupload the demos as often as possible as we will be improving them as we update Database Control Pro.

 

Our first submisson of Database Control Pro has been declined because the Asset Store Team want a documentation included with the package and won't accept an online documentation. We still have a lot to do with the documentation so this might take a few days, maybe a week. Then we will resubmit the package for attempt number 2!

 

We have resubmitted the package today with a pdf documentation included. The pdf documentation will probably not be updated with every version of Database Control Pro, but the online documentation will.

The online documentation is not finished yet, but it is close and we still have lots of time to finish it.

We will be working on Database Control Pro over the next few weeks, but there will be very little to actually show you. So if you have any questions now is the perfect time to ask them!

 

It has been declined again with two reasons this time.

Firstly, the Asset Store Team don't want the Setup to be based on invoice checking. This is a big problem for us as account data is completley based on invoice checking. Instead, we are going to make using your invoice optional. Using your invoice to setup DCP would give the benefit that you can use the same databases across projects and we can provide support to you through the bug reporter. This will change the setup process very little so the Setup video and setup section of the documentation will still apply.

Secondly, they found an error appearing in the console which they won't accept. We knew about this error, but we also knew that it has no effect on how Database Control Pro works so we decided to ignore it.

We will resubmit the asset but putting a length of time on this is difficult. You can never be sure how long it will take to fix errors.

 

Database Control Pro has been released!

The Asset Store Team appear to have been working at supersonic speeds this past week and Database Control Pro has been accepted and released on the Unity Asset Store.

Go to the Asset Store Page

 

How do you guys plan on dealing with server costs. For yourselves and for the people that buy this plugin.

 

@nadthevlad
You might have noticed the requests for Database Control Pro are a bit slower to respond when compared to most game backends. This is because we are using a system which costs us almost nothing. We use a similar system with Database Control (Free). Due to the very low costs, we know the package will pay for itself and is a sustainable solution. The current version of Database Control Pro should work forever (but, obviously we can't 100% guarentee this).

If we have users who want a faster system, we will have to reprogram all server-side code (which we are willing to do) to use a different system. This might not be sustainable cost wise, so we might have to change the pricing system and maybe even go subscription. But, the current system will always remain working.

We have also thought about adding an optional subscription/pay-for-what-you-use faster system on top of the standard slower system. So you would pay $35 for permanent use of the slower Database Control Pro, and if you choose you can use the faster system with a subscription on top of that.

But, we will leave these decisions for now, and return to them when we have more users to see how many would be willing to pay for it and if it is worth doing.

 

Database Control Pro is being featured as New on Asset Store

 

Hey guys,

I am medium in programming (but coded Voxel Based GI in c++ and OpenGL),
however I am a complete noob in networking. Currently, developing a gambling mobile game (Android and IOS), where it would require players to synchronize their progress with database.
Expected number of registered players is 200 000 to 2 million (likely about 500 000), actively submitting data, as well as fetching data about other players from leaderboard.

The database should be accessible from a website as well, (responsive and works on various resolutions), which has to display the progress of the players in a leaderboard + with the personal pages of players.

The questions are:

1) how much would a hosting subscription cost with you per week / month for best speed;
2) how reliable against DDOS
3) how secure against illegal modification of the personal scores
3) and what are the server downtime in minutes?
3.5) Is it going to be simple for freelancers hook up the information from the database ...Or maybe it's possible for you people to create a website that will do that (since you are the creators of the database in the first place anyway).
If not, I would still consider renting your service for the fast speed (if the game launches successfully, perhaps renting for long period).

If you would rather advise me to host on other machines, is it going to be easy for the web-developers to get hold of your database controls, etc (with the documentation)?

Currently, it will make sense to start the "development of website / thinking of database" in about two months (from November).

Thank you for your time!

 

@IgorAherne
1. At the moment we have only one speed available (slower) with a pay once use forever system through the Asset Store. We might change this in the future with a subscription, but we have not decided on any prices.

2. DDOS attacks (if big enough) can cause problems with any system. We will be honest, at the moment Database Control Pro has very little resistance to these attacks. The servers will not crash, but limits might be reached causing errors to be returned. We may work more on this in the future if Database Control Pro gets more heavy usage.

3. If you follow the steps in the documentation to publish your database before release, then it would be quite difficult for anyone to modify a score. It also comes down to the complexity of the Command Sequences you create yourself using Database Control Pro. If you check everything the player does, inside the Command Sequences as well as the username and password, then it would be almost impossible for a player to modify their score. (but there are some limits on the length of Command Sequences)

3. The package has only just been released, and we can only base server downtime on the time since released. There has been 0 minutes of downtime since release, but we can't guarantee it will remain like this.

3.5 Sadly, this feature is not available. We only support using the data within Unity and it would not be possible to get it on a website.

Here are a few more things you might want to think about:
- To be clear there is no renting system at the moment. We will wait until we have more users to see if it is worth doing.
- Highscores and leaderboards are possible at the moment, but they are still quite limited. We will add more support for these in a future update.
- Theoretically, a single basic database (with just username, password, datastring, score) could cope with 500,000 users, but we haven’t done much testing at this scale and assume it would be quite slow with possible errors from timeouts.
- We also plan on allowing a Command Sequence to access multiple databases in a future update. This means (as a bodge) you would be able to have accounts across more than one database. With unlimited databases this would give you unlimited accounts. (but again, it is not yet available)
- We try to make regular backups (at least once a month), but can't guarantee this every month. Most hosting providers allow you to use automatic backups more regularily so you would be at a disadvantage here.
- Also, if any of your data is lost (which it shouldn't be), we don't accept any responsibility for this. We don't accept responsibility for anything going wrong. But, we will try to help you and should be able to offer you a refund.
- Another thing to think about is just using Database Control Pro for prototyping and another system for the final product. It would allow to you see what you are aiming for and provide you with some understanding of using a server backend with your game.
- For such a potentially large game, we would advise you to avoid Database Control Pro at the moment. This is mainly because it has just been released. In a few years time it might be able to support the scale you require, but not right now.
- If you want an alternative and you will be using C# in Unity, you could look into C# ASP.Net (I don't think it supports C++) and host it with Microsoft Azure. There are hundreds of different languages and approaches to create a server backend and many more hosting services which might scale better to your needs, it is definitley worth spending some time to think about.

We hope that answers all of your questions! Maybe you will find a use for Database Control Pro eventually. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

 

Thank you, this puts me in the right direction; I will research in the direction of ASP.Net and Microsoft Azure

Thank you very much for your extensive answer and wish you a good outcome of the project!
Igor

 

I was just browsing the Asset Store earlier and noticed ...
... Database Control Pro is on the FRONT PAGE!!!

And yet, it still has bugs!

Tommorrow shall be a day of bug fixing.

 

Nice! My little project isn't ready for database driven features just yet, but I'll be keeping an eye on this.

 

Its great to here so many people are interested in using Database Control Pro. We have recieved lots of emails over the past few days about it which is good encouragement for us to start working on the next update.

Our new website is available here.
We have also finished the online documentation for version 1.0.0. It is available here.
It includes some frequently asked questions here. We will add to these as we are asked more questions.

 

We have just submitted v1.0.1 to the Asset Store. It is mainly some minor changes and fixes to v1.0.0 without any major new features. Hopefully it will be available on the Asset Store this week.
We planned to increase the price with this first update, but we have decided to delay it until v1.1.0 when there will be some major new features and improvements. We have also announced an update for Database Control (Free) which we will start work on soon. There is more information on the forum here.

So, here is the changelog for v1.0.1:

New Features:
- General: Added a 'Refresh' button to all lists loaded from requests. E.g. lists of Databases, lists of Command Sequences, etc. If list loads incorrectly the 'Refresh' button can be pressed to reload the list without having to close and reopen the window. Applies to all editor windows.
- Viewer Window: Added menu item to reload a Database in the 'File' menu.
- Sequencer Window: Added menu item to reload a Command Sequence in the 'File' menu.
- Run Command Sequence Window: Generates the C# or UnityScript code for running the Command Sequence which can be copied and pasted into your script.
- UI System: Added a very simple DCP_UIDebug script which sends a message to the console when the 'RunScript' method is called. Very useful for debugging UI system issues.
- Connection Errors: Chances of errors significantly reduced when DCP is experiancing high traffic

Changes:
- General: Asset Store Page menu item link goes to DCP page not publisher page
- General: Tab button down image darkened, making it easier to see which tab is selected.
- Setup Window: Account key is copied to clipboard when account has been setup and dialogue appears.
- Sequencer Window: Major changes to serialization system for Commands on currently open Command Sequences. (Changes to underlying code, no visible change).
- Sequencer Window: Reduced memory usage improving performance.

Fixes:
- Viewer Window: Add Column '+' button allignment and width corrected
- Sequencer Window: Missing 'Variable Value:' text added into Create Var Command's Properties
- Sequencer Window: Fixed a harmful ArgumentOutOfRangeException error which sometimes occurred when opening a Command Sequence
- Sequencer Window: Fixed serialization depth error which caused loss of data on open Command Sequences during serialization.
- Sequencer Window: Fixed serialization bug causing Unity to crash when entering playmode or compiling code with Sequencer Window open.
- UI System: All 3 Move scripts now call 'End Forward' events on MoveEvents script at the correct time. This fixes bugs when calling Move script's 'MoveForward' or 'MoveBack' within 'End Forward' events.​

 

Really want to buy your product,but I can only access the database using the vpn in the demo scene.I'm in China.
Any plan to provide the service to Chinese uses?

 

@floatingland - We hadn't actually noticed this so thanks for pointing it out! We will definitley try to get it working in China. We are planning an upgrade to a new system soon and I think this should work in China, but we can't put a date on it at the moment. We will definitley look into this, I can't believe we didn't notice it before !

 

Database Control Pro v1.0.1 has been released and is now available on the Asset Store! We would advise anyone using v1.0.0 to upgrade before you release your game.

 

What about mobile?

 

@pKallv Sorry for the long delay, for some reason we didn't get a notification the thread had been replied to.
Anyway, Database Control Pro works on android and we have tested it. We haven't tested it on any other mobile platforms but it should work on all of them. If it doesn't we will happily give a refund within 14 days of purchase.

 

tx

 

Really need this kind of service,but my users are all in China.The demo scene still not working in China.

 

Hey, I am pretty interested!

Is the server-side code fully handled by DCP server?
Does the client build have any server side logic exposed in it?

 

@floatingland - We are still working on this but its taking more time than we expected. The problem is we have to rewrite huge amounts of our server-side code to work on a different system which supports access from China. Hopefully we will have something to show by christmas. Sorry for the inconvienience.

 

@Gekigengar - Thanks for the interest! The 'Command Sequences' which you can create, act like server-side code and they are stored on the server. All the game does is send a request to the server telling it which sequence to invoke. The server then runs the code and returns the output to the game. None of the server-side code is in the actual build of the game.

 

We have just finished fixing a bug which prevented users from creating their own Command Sequences. The problem was in our server-side code so there is no update or patch, it should just work.

 

We are submitting a small update to the Asset Store today. It's main purpose is to provide Unity 5.5 support. It should be released in the next 5 to 10 working days.

Changelog for v1.0.2:

New Features:
- Unity 5.5 Support

Fixes:
- Version checker window bug fixed

 

The City Constructor Demo is just way too slow on WebGL. Even after the rewrite after the release on 18 August 2016.

This is a no thank you from me.

 

@StaffanEk - Thank you for your feedback. We understand the speeds at the moment are far from perfect, and this is something we plan to address in a future update. But, it does mean we need to rewrite all server-side code to work on a different system and this will take time. Our aim is to make it at least 5 times quicker. Hopefully, you will reconsider Database Control Pro after this update.

 

Database Control Pro v1.0.2 has now been released on the Asset Store with Unity 5.5 support.
Take a look here.

 

The Database Control Pro UI Animation System

You may or may not have realised that Database Control Pro includes it's own UI Animation System which is used in the demo scenes. And we used it to create the features video (which is also included in the package). You are also free to use it in your game.

It is based on the Unity UI system and allows you to move and fade UI elements using Unity's Animation Curves. Everything can be setup in the Inspector (no code required) allowing you to make interfaces from simple splash screens to advanced game menus.

For those of you that are interested, we have made a tutorial video showing the basics of how to use it:

 

The latest version of Database Control Pro, version 1.0.2, fully supports Unity 5.6. No update required.

 

15% Off

Database Control Pro is currently part of the Madness Sale and is 15% off. That makes it just $29.75.
The sale lasts until the end of April so make sure you buy it before then!

Asset Store Page

Edit: Last Day!!!

 

The past few months we have been working on a new version of Database Control Pro. It will use a different server system for improved speed and scaling. It is a very big update and is still far from finished. If you are considering upgrading to the new version when it is released, be aware that there may be pricing changes.

At the moment we have taken a break from developing the new version and we are working on an update to the online documentation (completely redesigning layout, but not content). We plan to release the documentation update soon.

 

We have released the new Database Control Pro documentation just now. The content hasn't changed but the layout, fonts, and navigation have been changed making it easier to read and use.

The Database Control Pro documentation is available here.

 

Great to hear you guys are going for a more scaleable solution, this should have great potential. I'm trying out Database Control Pro at the moment and am wondering if we have to make changes in the code when the update gets here. In other words can I better make our app function with DBC now or wait for the update?

 

@kachelaar

Thanks for the interest!

If you start using Database Control Pro in your game now, you won't be able to update it easily when the new version is released. The reason for this is the update uses completely different servers so there won't be an easy way of copying all your data across to the new version. You would have to recreate all the Command Sequences and input the data into your new database manually. We can try and help at our end if there isn't much to transfer, but it wouldn't be very convienient.

I would suggest learning how to use Database Control Pro now while you have the time. but not developing your game with it unitl the new version is released. There won't be many changes in terms of the Editor Windows in the update so it will look and behave exactly the same, it will just respond quicker.

But, if you are happy using the current version, it will continue to work after the update with the same speed, security and scalability as it has now.

I hope that helps!

 

Hello,

I'm creating business app which requires differentiation between
User Types: Business, Employee, Customer
So i need LOGIN functionality.
A user can have lots different data associated with that user and the app windows contents are build using that information.
How well do you think your plugin will work for a business type app?
Database comparable to facebook,snapchat,airbnb,tinder,etc professional apps with many users.

I'm doing a lot of research into Database Plugins, yours is the first one i found so far.
Can you Pro version support secure user login, and secure information retrieval.
There will be In App Purchasing as well.

I've read you guys are updating your server side stuff and that people should wait before developing the database, is this still true or did you guys update already?

Thanks!!